Woodtype from the Underworld

The basement printshop of WNYBAC has a treasure trove of wood and metal typefaces. WNYBAC member and designer Brian Grunert recently descended the staircase into the printshop to unearth and print some wood type fonts (that have never been digitized) for use on the new Anaïs Mitchell album: Hadestown . Some things just cant be faked in photoshop. This is real woodtype with hand inking used in the design. A previous project with woodtype via WNYBAC was the Woody Guthrie Live Wire CD packaging. More and more people are realizing that hand printed and handmade art and design has applications for even mass produced items. This is a good thing.

Demo Days: Leather Tooling with Linda Steffan

Last night a group of 8 participants had the opportunity to learn a whole lot about leather from area expert and owner of M. Steffan's Sons Leather Supplies, Linda Steffan.

Linda passed around several types of leather from pig to crocodile to lamb and everyone got to see what makes these leathers unique and what they are used for.



Next the group had the opportunity to try some of Linda's tools including leather punches, stamps, and cutters.



After our thoroughly interesting leather lesson, everyone got a chance to try their hand at stamping some leather. Linda provided raw leather key chains for everyone, and a good time was had by all trying the different stamps and designs.

A finished key fob:



Don't worry if you missed it, we will be bringing Linda back for a workshop this summer on a stab-stitch leather bound book! Stay tuned for details.

We brought Linda to the Book Arts Center as part of our Demo Days series. Demo Days are held at various Wednesday evenings from 6-8 pm. They are free to the public.

This series is made possible in part by the Arts Council in Buffalo & Erie County with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), a state agency.

Lademann Skull End Paper Pins

The Buffalo & Erie County Central Library generously donated a box of their deaccessioned books to WNYBAC to use for altering and workshops. Most of the books are in Danish and Swedish, and upon closer inspection we found a certain Danish publisher called Lademann based in Copenhagen used some pretty cool skull end papers for their books!

There were 6 or 7 of them all in different colors, so we decided to turn them into buttons.

They're going for $1 a piece (or 3 for $2) in the WNYBAC shop so stop by and pick up a few of these limited edition 1960's Danish end paper pins!

The book:



The paper:



The pins!

Amos Kennedy, Jr. at WNYBAC

Amos Kennedy, Jr. joined us at the Book Arts Center last night following the screening of Proceed and Be Bold!, a documentary about Kennedy, in Rochester Monday night. Those that came out to WNYBAC to meet Amos had a chance to "talk shop" and enjoy casual conversation with Amos before he returned to Alabama Wednesday morning.

WNYBAC plans to bring Amos and the film to Buffalo at a later date, stay tuned for details!

We also have a few of Amos' posters left in the WNYBAC shop. Stop by and pick one up-only $15 each!

Inside Looking Out

Amos Kennedy Jr. in Rochester and Buffalo This Week

Amos Kennedy, Jr. will be in Rochester this Monday for a screening of Proceed and Be Bold! at the Genesee Center for the Arts. He will be attending the screening and a Q & A session following the film.

Proceed and Be Bold!

Monday, April 19, 2010 from 7:00 until 8:30

This documentary covers the life and works of Amos Paul Kennedy Jr, an African American letterpress printer who left his day job to become a full-time printer in Alabama.

Location:
Cinema Theater, 957 South Clinton, Rochester, NY

See the full Genesee Center for the arts listing here.

On Tuesday evening, Amos will be at the Western New York Book Arts Center in Buffalo for a casual meet-and-greet. Stop by the Book Arts Center between 7 and 9pm to talk printing with an influential letterpress printer.

WNYBAC will be bringing the film Proceed and Be Bold! to Buffalo at a later date.

Interns Needed for Summer and Fall 2010

The Western New York Book Arts Center is looking for a few interns for both the summer and fall 2010 semesters!

We will consider upper level undergraduate and graduate students in:

Design, Fine Art, and Poetics-
Students in fine arts, design, and poetics will have the  opportunity to work hands-on with letterpresses and assist  with events, exhibitions, demonstrations, and in other  aspects of the gallery and museum. No prior knowledge of  letterpress is required. Library Science-

Seeking a library science student to help implement a  cataloging system and organize our small arts-centered  library. The intern will gain special library experience  as well as general book arts and letterpress experience.  

Museum Studies-

Museum studies intern wanted to formalize our interpretive  materials and enhance displays as well as functional  printshop components that double as displays, assist in curation of  exhibitions, and museum management. 

All interns will also sweep and mop floors, run errands,  assist with field trips, and contribute to shop and studio  maintenance.   Hours are flexible, but interns must be available at least  1-2 days during our open hours Wednesday-Saturday 12-6pm.  Internships are 1-5 credit hours and unpaid.  

All interested applicants should send a CV or resume to jessica@wnybookarts.org for consideration.  

Drive By Press at WNYBAC

Drive By Press visited WNYBAC this week. Last night we all enjoyed viewing their work and watching them do what they do. Check back for additional images and comments on a great experience.

Drive By Press at the WNY Book Arts Center

Drive By Press at the WNY Book Arts Center
A special one -day exhibit/reception
Western NY Book Arts Center
468 Washington St.
Buffalo NY 14203
Friday April 9 7-10pm
Admission: Free

Following a week-long residency at the WNYBAC Printshop, Drive by press will display a special one-day exhibit of highlights from their traveling collection and the work created during their week at WNYBAC!

Drive By Press was created to educate and share the contemporary practice of printmaking with students and art audiences across America. DBP has visited well over 100! Universities, Colleges,and public schools, traveling over 100,000 miles!
During each stop DBP collects prints from area artists, amassing the largest collection of contemporary prints from across the country! DBP is a self- funded endeavor solely surviving on small visiting artists honorariums from schools and from the sales of printing wood blocks on paper and t-shirts. Many blocks have been graciously donated from some of the greatest wood cut artists in the country to support and perpetuate the the endeavor of Drive By press!!

Eat Your Words

This hybrid pot-luck dinner meets art show returns to WNYBAC for a second year and will push the limits of what defines a "book". Participants are encouraged to create something tasty and ponderous...bordering on preposterous.

From the festival website: "April 1st is the birthday of French gastronome Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826), famous for his book Physiologie du goût, a witty meditation on food. April fools' day is also the perfect day to eat your words and play with them as the "books" are consumed on the day of the event. This ephemeral global banquet, in which anyone can participate, is shared by all on the internet and allows everyone to preserve and discover unique bookish nourishments. This festival is a celebration of the ingestion of culture and a way to concretely share a book; it is also a deeper reflexion on our attachment to food and our cultural differences."

entry and attendance details plus images from last years event can be found here:

Hacking woodtype

In the digital age when designers don’t bother hand kerning by nudging the option arrow keys because it is too much trouble, it's heartening to look into old type cases and see what real kerning was...the cutting away of the space on a character to fit pairs together better. One can see in woodtype cases how a Cap A is notched at the top so out can fit into the T whose bottom has been notched. This was the sign of a craftsman printer who cared about how letter looked on the page.

Another woodtype artifact that is more rare but can be found in old cases, is modified characters. The limit of only a few of each letter in a woodtype font would often necessitate the sacrifice of some other letter to make the missing letter. An E turned into an F is easy to hide, but here are a few clever solutions to letter modification that have been discovered in the last few days at WNYBAC.


A number 8 has been frantically turned into an S.

This tiny 3 line woodtype C had been made into a G my inserting a type high lead shim

This V is now an A with the insertion of some solid material that will print at the same height as the rest of the letter (as found in the extensive woodtype collection at Massey College Toronto.)

Introducing Mohawk Press

The WNYBAC Print studio (newly named "Mohawk Press") is now available for custom letterpress design/printing work.

WNYBAC has printed wood type for the Grammy award winning Woody Guthrie Live Wire CD package, and innovative designers looking to break out of digital confines as well as limited edition letterpress work for Just Buffalo's Big Night event series posters, Elmwood Festival of the Arts, Neglia Ballet and individuals looking for truly unique calling cards. WNYBAC's work is the subject of an exhibit at the Hamilton Woodtype Museum in Two Rivers Wisconsin (Feb 1- Mar 15)

If you have a special exhibit, concert, or other event that needs a one-of-a-kind visual commemoration/promotion in the form of a limited edition poster or broadside, this is the place to go. In the tradition of Nashville’s Hatch Show Print, Mohawk Press uses regional historical printing materials to produce timeless and contemporary limited edition prints.

Unlike traditional designer/client/printer relationships, you leave the most of the design decisions to our designer-printers after your initial consultation of what you would like. We do strive to create unique, tactile and memorable work from a finite selection of options. We have hundreds of metal and dozens of wood type fonts plus thousands of image cuts. Rates are quoted on a per job basis.

If you would like to print your own work, the criteria is relatively simple: A. become a member of WNYBAC, and B. Take an intro to letterpress workshop (plus log in a number of hours shadowing/assisting an in-house printer to establish a crash course apprenticeship). If you already possess sufficient knowledge and skills to work in a letterpress shop, then all you have to do is become a member and sign up for time. A nominal charge for press time is required but setup and prep time carries no fees.

Mohawk Press continues the mission of WNYBAC by promoting the arts of hand printing and the aesthetic of historical materials put into contemporary use. All proceeds go to support the mission and education programs of the WNY Book Arts Center.

For more information on custom letterpress work from Mohawk Press email

Hero Exhibit at WNYBAC Jan 13-Feb 20 2010

Pulled to the Limit.
Hero Design Studio Retrospective Exhibition at WNY Book Arts Center
Wednesday Jan 13- Sat Feb 20, 2010
-----------

In a relatively short time, Hero Design Studio has become a fixture in the Buffalo music and design scene. Hero is husband and wife team, Beth Manos and Mark Brickey. The screen printing, illustration and design duo have created hundreds of hand printed posters and art prints since starting as Hero in 2003 and expanded their presence via their Allentown studio/shop.

Pulled to the Limit at the Western New York Book Arts Center's gallery will feature the most comprehensive exhibit of Hero's silkscreened works to date. Along with limited edition prints and posters, the exhibit will feature one-of-a-kind prints, experimental work and works-in-progress that will help explain the creative and production process.

An artists' reception with live printing will be held mid-Exhibit on Friday, January 29, 2010

An additional Demo day, free and open to the public will be presented February 17th 6-8pm

For more details

The Way They See It

I took each of my three eight-year-old daughters out for a "camera adventure," looking for letters. Here's what we ended up with.

Winchell Factor +1

Artist, Poet, Canal Boat Pilot and WNYBAC member Chris Fritton has embarked upon a major woodtype project using the digital version of the Winchell font (a font digitized exclusively for WNYBAC members), shellac, maple wood and "lasers". This ambition project is documented in great detail on his blog

Last minute gift buying panic marketplace

Starts today!

At the main gallery, 1st floor of the Western New York Book Arts Center 468 Washington St at Mohawk in Downtown Buffalo
Friday Dec 11, 4-8pm
and
Saturday Dec 12 12-6pm
Free admission and open to the public
Artists, craftspeople, printers, & other handmade/self published/locally produced items. Perfect gifts for giving or hoarding.

This year's Vendors include:

• Elizabeth Leader
Paintings & Drawings
• Crowbiz
"...funk for the old soul..."
• Hero Design Studio
Screen Printed Posters & Cards
• Donald Trainor/ Shiny Object Media
• Where to Roam
Buffalo, NY themed wearables
• Amy Greenan
paintings, drawings, prints, collage, handmade books
• Rene Hoover
Letterpress cards, & coasters +handmade ornaments
• Jan Nagle
Upcycled and Vintage Jewelry
• SunnyOutside Press
Independent Small Press
• Queen City Gallery
Buffalo Books & original Photo Prints
• Buffalo Heritage
Books about Buffalo
• Amanda Maciuba
Intaglio & releif Prints
• The Hall Family Woodworkers
• Theresa Barnack
handmade jewelry & cards
• Dennis Piatkowski
Origami Man
• Kate Parzych
• UB Deprtment of Print Media
Prints, printed ephemera
• WNY Book Arts Center Shop and More!

Old Brother Hubbard

Elbert Hubbard and the Roycroft were highly influential and important in the American Arts & Crafts Movement and a fixture in WNY printing history. The Roycroft Press is what started the ball rolling for all other areas of activities at the Roycroft Campus in East Aurora. A new PBS documentary has recently premiered and can be seen online. No survey of WNY Book At History can be complete without a major chapter dedicated to the Roycroft.

Buffalo Type

Check out "Buffalo Type" on Flickr. With over 50 members, the image pool is a great place to discover and share the many typographic treasures found in and around Buffalo. Signs, posters, architectural details, tattoos and metal type photographed while locked in the Book Arts Building - there's a little bit of everything found in the 700+ image collection. Take a look. Think about adding a find of your own.

B->F->T

WNYBAC Blog posts now auto-feed to Facebook. Facebook posts auto-feed to Twitter. So if this works, it will be tweeted.

The Western New York Book Arts Collaborative
Presents a new Exhibition:

WRITING PICTURES
Art/Text Works from the Gerald Mead Collection

September 11 – October 3, 2009

Text and image have frequently intersected throughout the history of art and design, for example, during the Pop Art and Concrete Poetry movements and in disciplines such as editorial cartooning and graphic design. A number of contemporary artists associated with Western New York have created work that fuses the visual arts and text in intriguing ways, often using words or letters as much as a visual tool as a conceptual one. This exhibition of prints, paintings, photographs, drawings and sculptures have been selected from the extensive collection of Gerald Mead, a noted Buffalo artist and educator, to demonstrate the range of approaches and techniques that artists have used to explore the interconnectedness of written language and imagery.

Opening Reception Sept 11, 2009 6-9pm